Measure YV “Vote16” will open up our schools and children to outside political forces looking to court and influence them. Protect our kids – vote NO.
High school has been a formative time in all our lives. It was our first introduction to politics and culture. The Vote16 amendment makes promises to engage Culver City High School students in our civic culture by granting them the right to decide who our next councilmembers will be.
The reality is a bit different.
For a while now, activists have had an eye to campaigning in our school district. They’ve pressured Council to approve this measure on the ballot – for a second time.
Let’s set aside how this is going to work. Let’s assume the proponents thought of all that-how those under 18 get registered, whether outside students can vote, whether students can run for Council, etc.
The fact is, this measure makes our students a captive, impressionable voting bloc. The candidates with the best access to the school district will have an advantage over outsiders. That makes our Council less accessible or accountable.
And a voter is public record. Their name, address, and contact info would be published by the election administrator, available to anyone who requests it. It’s a necessary part of elections. That means your 16-year old child would be getting contacted – and courted – by strangers with political motives.
Is that the school district you want? Do you want it to become a political football, with your children being contacted by competing strangers, pressured to vote for their favored candidates? Or do you feel like your children should be shielded from the political winds of our city?
If you feel like our Council elections should leave our kids alone, vote NO on Vote16.
You can read more about our argument against Vote16, along with our rebuttal, on the city’s election website.
You are the ones who should let kids be kids. At 16, many of them don’t even know what they want to study or what career they want to pursue, yet you expect them to decide the political future of their city?
This isn’t about empowering young people. It feels like an attempt to influence them politically, push them toward voting Democrat, and continue taking this beautiful community in the wrong direction. Let kids grow up, learn, think for themselves, and form their own political opinions without being pressured or indoctrinated.
And this is coming from a Cuban woman who was made to vote at 16 in Cuba, under a one-party political system. I know firsthand why young people should be allowed the time and freedom to develop their own ideas and political beliefs.